Aeroplane



June 4, 19 29.

M. J. JEVNISEK 1.716.351

AEROPLANE Filed June 16, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

June 4, 1929. M. J. JEVNISEK "1.716.351

' AEROPLANE Filed June 16, 192'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Julie 4, 1929.

M. J. JEVNISEK AEROPLANE 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 16, 192.7

Fiy. 6.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

June 4, 192.9.

M. J JEVNISEK AEROPLANE Filed June 16, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 4, 1929.

' UNITED STATES- MICHAEL JEVNISEK, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

AEROPILAN E.

Application filed June 16,

This invention relates to improvements in aeroplanes, this application being a companion to another application bearing even date herewith in which I have described an improved engine mounting associated w1th means for taking off and landing along substantially vertical lines.

The object of the present invention is to improve the wing structure and the control structure including not only the tail piece, but a co-operating superposed head piece or rudder designed particularly to provide auxiliary control duringtaking off and landing operations.

A furthenobject of this invention is to provide means for folding wings and tail pieces preparatory to entrance into ahangar or other place of storage.

As stated in .the companion application the invention is peculiarly applicable to toy aeroplanes, and to aeroplanes for demonstration urposes, in-door or under tent-flights and o servation flights, as well as for the general purposes of the ordinary aeroplane.

In the drawings, which are largely conventional, particularly as to ordinary structural parts,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the wing structure, main frame and tail frame. The engine,

propeller wheels, and superposed head piece are omitted for the sake of clearness.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the parts shown in Figure 1 with the tail frame also omitted.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the motion checking controls, modified from those shown in said companion application, and with dotted lines indicating the position of the engine and associated shafting for driving the propeller Wheels.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the modified motion checking controls shown in Fig ure 3. a

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the tail piece and its controls, showing the relation there- I of of the main frame.

Figure 6 is a front elevation of'the head piece. rudder and its controls, showing their relation to the main frame.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the same, the rear portion of the main frame being broken away.

Figure 8 is a side elevation, showing my improved aeroplane as it appears when 55 folded. I

1927. Serial. No. 199,219.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 5 with particular reference to the controls employed for lateral steering.

Figure 10 is a detail view partly in section showing the connections for adjusting th( vertical fin or rudder and holding it in position regardless of the adjustments of the elevator.

Figure 11 is a detail view of the control lever and its connections to the fore and aft rudders and elevators.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the same.

Like parts are identified by the'same reference characters throughout the several views.

The wing structure of my improved aeroplane comprises a plurality of wing sections such as the sections 10 and 11, the meeting margins of which are flexibly connected or hinge-d together as indicated at 12. At each side of the main frame 13 the associated sec-- tion 10 has its inner margin hinged to memhinged joints 12 and 14 being constructed and attached so as to allow the section 11 to fold underneath-the section 10 and to also allow the section 10 to fold downwardly along the side of the frame as illustrated in Fi ure 8. The main frame 13 will preferably e left uncovered or' covered simply for housing purposes. It will be understood if ordinary balancing ailerons are to be used they will be attached to the outer marginsof the wing sections 11 and operated in the ordinary manner. They are omitted from the drawings for the reason that being well known as to the structure, function and mode of operation, illustration and description is deemed unnecessary and their illustration would complicate the illustration of the features of invention herein disclosed and claimed.

Thetail frame is formed in sections to allow the inner section 15 to be folded upwardly as illustrated in Figure 8 with the tail carr ing or .outersection 16 swung downwardly rom the upper end of the section 15 to a position between the rear end portions of the folded wings. The propeller wheels will be two in number, one located on a stub shaft supported from the front upper corner of the main frame and the other being similarly mounted at the rear lower corner as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3 and as set forth in said companion application. Each propellet stub $1 3 15 adapted to be swung in a vertical plane whereby the wheels may be operated to lift or support the machine when starting or stopping. The engine mounting driving connections and stub shaft adjusting means are shown and described in said companion application and as they are not claimed in this application, further illustration and description thereof is deemed unnecessary.-

At the rear margins bf the wings 10 -motion checking wing flaps are pivotal y mounted and supported by transversely disposed ivot rods 18, the ends of which are ournalled 1n the frame members 19 of the wing 10. The

this point, the upper surface of the thickened portion extends forwardly and obliquely downwardly to the level of the major portion of such wing, as best shown in Figure 3.

The wing fla s may be manipulated by a motor 25, the s aft of which transmits motion to them through inion 26, gear wheel 27, crank shaft 28, cran 29, connecting rods or cables 30 and 31 and levers 32, the latterbeing rigidly connected with the pivot rods 18, whereby a swinging movement of the levers will be transmitted to the associated wing flap to either fold it to normal position or swm it to the motion checking position in whic it is illustrated in Figure 4. A half turn of the cranks 29 will move the wing flaps to full motion checking position. Further rotation of the cranks will then restore them to normal position. The motor may, of course, be operated from a stora e battery, the circuit of which may be contro led by any convenient push button. These parts re uire no illustration, and, in fact, the motor is lustrated merely as'one means for adjusting the I the forward and aft portions of the wing flaps are properly proportioned, the air pressures on 0p site sides of their pivotal axes may be so alanced that they can be easily manipulated by any convenient means subject to the control of the operator.

At least under ordinary conditions the wing may, therefore, be adjusted without great expenditure of power. 1

The means for supporting the wings in extended position will now be more particu-.

larly described.

The. hinges 12 and 14 may be one way actmg hrnges of ordinary type adapted to allow the wmg members. or sections 10 and 11 to swing downwardly but not upwardly to any considerable extent beyond the horizontal plane which they occupy when extended or spread as shown in Figure 2. The wings, however, will be additionally supported against upward movement from that posiconnected with and adapted to be wound e wings over pulleys 46' upon a drum 50 which may be operated by a sprocket wheel at one end connected by a chain 51 with a suitable crank shaft 52. Similarly the stays 45 are connected with and wound upon a drum 55 actuated by a sprocket chain 56 from a crank shaft 57. The lower sprocket wheels on the crank shaft may be provided with pawl and ratchet mechanisms as indicated at 59 to revent retractive rotation under the drums by the weight of the wings or the pressure of air currents thereon. But when it is desired to fold the wings, as above described, the pawls are manually released from the ratchet, where'- upon the cranks may be manually rotated to control the downward movement of the wings, the drums, of course, rotating in the reverse direction as the stays unwind. While the wings are thus being lowered the outer wing sections 11 may be manually folded underneath the sections 10 and the sections 10 may then be folded to the substantially ver- "tical portion in which they are illustrated by dotted lines in Figure2.

The tail piece section 16 is provided with a stabilizer 63, (Figures 5 and 9), avertical fin 64, rudder 65 and elevator 68. The rudder 65 is supported by trunnions 66 carried by its upper and lower margins and journallediin the tail frame 70. The rudder has an open slot 69 to receive the elevator 68 and this slot extends back from the rear margin of the elevator sufliciently to allow the rudderto swing from side to side on the vertical axis of the trunnions 66. The ends of the tru' 'ons and of. the tubular pivot shaft 67 of the elevator member or tilting plate 68 ma be supported in the rectangular frame 70, t is frame, eing rigidly connected with the shaft 67' and elevator member 68.

The side bars-of the tail iecesection 16 are,

also connected in front 0 the elevator by a stabilizer plate 71. (See Figures 5 and 9.) This tail piece section 16 is normally connected with the upper and lower corners of .the main frame 13 by stays 72 and 73. The section 15 may be slmilarly connected with the main frame by stays 74- and 75, whereby these tail piece members may be supported in a normally horizontal plane, i. e. in a plane at right angles to the posts 76 of the main frame with which they are connected.

The tubular shaft 67 is provided with upwardly and-downwardly projecting arms 80 and 81 whereby it may be oscillated in its tail frame to tilt the elevator and rudder upon the axis of said tubular shaft 67. These arms 80 and 81 are respectively connected by the cables 83 and 84 with a controller lever or so called joy-stick 85 at points above and below its universal joint at 86, whereby a forward movement of the upper end of the lever 85 will tilt the front margin of the elevator downwardly and the rear margin upwardly to cause an upward movement of the plane. Movement of the lever 85 in the opposite direction, if'ca-rriedfar enough to raise the front margin of the elevator above the tail piece section 16, will cause the plane to descend.

The lower end or arm of the controller lever below its universal fulcrum at 86 is also connected by cables 90 and 91 (Figure 9) with the forward portions of the rudder 65. The cables-9O and 91 extend laterally toward the respective sides of the main frame from the lower end of the controlling lever 85 and are passed around pulleys 92 and then back.- wardly to the respective ends of the pivot shaft 67 where they again pass around pulleys 93 connected with the tail section 16 and respectively through the outer end portions of the pivot shaft 67 to openings 95 therein, the cables then passing about the pulleys 98 and 99 to their respective points of connection with the opposite sides of the rudder as indicated at 100 and 101. The pulleys 98 and 99 may be journaled on suitable studs projecting from the surface of the elevator. By passing the cables 90 and 91 through the respective end portions of the tubular pivot shaft 67, itis obvious that the tension of these cables and their control of the relative position of the rudder with reference to the elevator will not be altered by tilting movements of the elevator. It will, therefore, be obvious that by swinging the joy-stick .to the front or rear from its normal position the elevator may be tilted to control movements of the machine in a vertical plane and by swinging the joystick laterally the rudder maybe swung to one side or the other for lateral steering. The j oy-stick being universally fulcrumed, it is obvious that both movements may be simultaneously accomplished to any desired degree and in much'the same manner as heretofore accomplished with tail pieces of ordinary construct-ion.

The provision of means for swinging the propeller wheels upon stub axles frompositions of forward propulsion to posltions where their main force will be exerted for lifting purposes creates diflicut steering problems and it. is, therefore, desirable, if not essential, to provide a co-operating steering mechanism above the upper front corner of the mam frame at a pomt where efficient control may be exerted without interfering with the forward propeller wheel, the stub shaft. of which is also journalled to the upper front corner portion of the main frame. This forward steering mechanism is supported from the mam frame by posts 108, at the upper ends of which a tubular shaft 67 is journallcd. This shaft corresponds functionally with the tail piece shaft 67 and supports an elevator 68 in a similar manner. Itsarms 80 and 81 are connected by cables 83 and 84 around pulleys and 111, these pulleys being preferably located on the main frame in front of the joy-stick and the cables, being reversely connected to the j oy-stick,

i. e. the cable 83 being connected to the lowerarm of the controller lever or joy-stick 85 I and the cable 8 1 being connected to the upper arm. With this arrangement, a movement of the controller arm or lever will dopress or elevate the forward margins of both of the elevators 68 and 68*, respectively.

[he rudder connections are similar to those described for the tail piece rudder and like.

1. In an aeroplane, a forward rudder and associated stabilizer supported above the wings and a controlling lever for adjusting said rudder and stabilizer in planes at right. angles to each other, said rudder being mounted on the stabilizer and adapted for tilting movement therewith and for independent laterally swinging movement and flexible connections for laterally swinging the rudder, extended in one portion along the axis about which the stabilizer tilts, whereby the tension of such connections is not changed by the tilting of the stabilizer.

2. In an aeroplane, the combination with a stabilizer having a tubular supporting shaft about the axis of which the stabilizer may be tilted, perpendicular rudder posts secured to the central portion of said tubular shaft, a rudder carried by said post and having portions above and below the stabilizer, and flexible rudder adjusting connections extending through the end portions of the tubular shaft and connected with the respective'sides of the rudder at points distant from the shaft along the longitudinal center line of the aeroplane.

3. In an aeroplane, the combination of fore and aft stabilizers and assoeiatecl with fore rudder being mounted upon a jointed-tail and aft rudders and means for utilizing a piece adapted to have one portion swung single controlling lever to simultaneously upwardly and another portion swung down- 1 adjust the stabilizers and to simultaneously wardly to a folded position, and the aeroadjust the rudders and to adjust both the plane being also provided with foldable rudders or the stabilizer either siinultaneous- Wings. ly or independently, the rear stabilizers and MICHAEL J. JEVNISEK. 

